Trochanteric Bursa - Thigh

[thelewisgang]

I've had a painful thigh trochanteric bursa for some time & last year had a steroid injection into it but unfortunately it gave only minimal pain relief.

The surgeon decided a few weeks ago to operate after sending me for an MRI scan. He told me he would make a small incision & I would have 2 or 3 stitches.

I had this done last Tuesday as a day case patient. I was in awful pain following the op. I had been given pain relief & was told I could have no more. The pain got considerably worse so they gave me liquid morphine & sent me home after I was collected.

Things went from bad to worse. I don't think I have ever experienced pain like this before. I saw my own GP last Thursday who told me I had a high temperature & that an infection couldn't be ruled out. Was given antibiotics & strong pain relief pills.

Yesterday I returned to the surgery as the pain, albeit not as severe as it had been, was still bad with a deep burning inside. I was still running a temperature although this wasn't as raised as last week.
The doctor I saw took the dressing off & asked me again what operation I had undergone. She said the wound was considerably bigger than she would expect for such a procedure.

When she returned with a clean dressing, I asked her how many stitches I had. She said I had staples, not stitches & began to count. I was amazed when she told me 23 especially as the surgeon had told me it would be a small incision. She said this length of incision would normally be seen in a patient with a hip replacement. I am also completely black & blue around my thigh/buttock area.

Obviously when I return to see the consultant in 6 weeks (I am awaiting an appointment to come through in the post) I will have questions to ask him.
I am now wondering what on earth went on during my surgery. Is it common to have such a large incision for this procedure?

[Sqad]

Operations can be predictable or unpredictable.
It is not always easy to predict what one is to find.

A small incision may give one access to the point of abnormality, but once there, then other decisions may have to be made, one of which is to enlarge the incision to get better access to the problems.

In your particular case, a small incision is all that is necessary to access and remove the bursa, however , some bone removal may be necessary and this may necessitate enlarging the incision.

The tendon to the muscle may well have had to be split to gain access and then re-sutured.

That is probably what went on during your surgery.........just a guess.

[thelewisgang]

Thanks Sqad. it is the pain that is dragging me down & still excessive if I don't take the 30/500 co-codamel pills. I didn't see the surgeon or any doctor before leaving the ward & guess I will just have to wait to see what he says when I see him in out-patients in a few weeks time

[atalanta]

I was offered exactly this operation, but declined. The consultant seemed keen to do it, but I asked what odds there were of success or failure. He said " 60% improvement, 20% it stays the same, 20% it ends up worse". I thought those were dreadful odds, since the chance of being no better, or worse ( and with a scar) of 40% were terrible odds. The problem has actually got less painful over time, with only the occasional recurrence if I lie heavily on that spot ( mistakenly, in sleep)
You have my sympathies. Hope you are very much better very soon.

[thelewisgang]

thank you atalanta. I didn't ask the surgeon the odds on success (maybe I should have done now!) but he did say the only way to get rid of the problem was to remove it so accepted that with him saying that, it would be better.
I just hope that this awful pain eases soon. Guess it will feel less uncomfortable once the staples have been removed but that is not till 11th Feb. thanks for your reply x